The Wheels of Dehra Dun
by EnglishRose1
Summary: Lara Croft becomes a tomb raider, and Alex West steals those prayer wheels
1. Old Friends

Chapter 1 - Old Friends  
  
Ok, I know this is wrong if you've read the book, if you have then just pretend for a few minutes.  
  
India, 1993.  
  
Lara Croft crouched down in the dirt and aimed upwards to get the perfect shot. She squeezed down gently with her finger. "Lara Croft?" She spun around at the sound of the familiar British accent. The owner of the voice had grey hair and a tanned, weather beaten face. "Mr Palmer!" she exclaimed, recognising the man as a colleague of her father's who she hadn't seen since his funeral eight years ago. Lara dropped the bulky camera she had been using to photograph an intricate temple and it fell heavily to her chest on the leather strap around her neck. "This is a remote spot to pick for a holiday destination" the man said, after kissing her on the cheek and insisting that she call him Robert now. They were in Dehra Dun, a city in Northern India home to the beautiful Muslim Temple before them. Lara laughed. "Oh, I'm not on holiday. I'm writing a travel book," she told him. "I take it you're not here to relax either?" "No, no. We've discovered what we think is the ruins of an ancient monastery a few miles from here. Some of the old structures seem to remain underground, but we haven't found a way in yet." "A Buddhist monastery?" Lara asked in surprise, "I thought all the ancient ones were in Tibet." "Yes, that's why we're so interested." "How fascinating," Lara said as they began to walk together towards the main part of town. "I would very much like to see it, and photograph it for my book if I may." "Of course you may, I'm going back there now if you want to catch a ride. I can even find you a place to sleep if you want to hang around until we get inside, it should be soon." Lara thought for a moment "thank you, that sounds wonderful," she said, instantly abandoning her plans to travel into Nepal the next day. After checking out of her hotel, Robert led Lara through the crowded streets to a battered looking jeep that seemed to be lacking more than just the roof. The archeologist laughed at the obvious distaste with which she regarded it. "It gets you there" he said, wrenching a door open for her. "Most of the time". Lara raised a brow and got in.  
  
The site of the monastery proved to be more than a few miles out into the wilderness of Northern India. "I heard about the plane crash in February" Robert said as they thrashed through the undergrowth "I was astounded that you survived such a horrific ordeal." Lara shrugged. "Well it certainly changed a few of my priorities," she told him. The older man looked across at her. "Hence the travel journalism?" "Yes, I suppose. I couldn't bear the stuffy atmosphere, all those relatives trying to tell me what to do." Robert nodded, and they drove on in silence for a while. "Your father would be proud of you" he said eventually "he could never bear that either". Lara smiled at this, fingering the camera in her lap. Lara's father had died when she was thirteen, her mother when she was just three years old and for the last eight years she had been to a succession of boarding schools and most recently finishing school in Switzerland which she hated. After surviving a plane crash in the Himalayas, trekking for two weeks to reach civilization she had decided not to go back to the school, having recently come into her inheritance on turning twenty one. For the last six months she had been travelling the globe, getting material for her first book. Lara's father had been the centre of her universe, and to think that she was finally doing something that would have made him proud made her glow inside.  
  
After an hour of driving they finally came out into a large clearing of dusty ground and pulled up by a large cordoned off area. One corner was covered by a white canvas structure which kept the sun off a group of people working on a section of ruined wall. Off to one side Lara could see a some tents pitched in a rough circle to form a camp. "Well this is it," Robert said, sweeping his hand over the area. "It's not much now, but when we find an entrance." he stopped as a young man stepped up to greet them, brushing dirt off his clothes. "Ah, West. Any luck yet?" the older man asked him. The reply was a shake of the head and Robert tutted with disappointment. "I'd like you to meet Lara Croft, her father was a good friend and colleague of mine." He turned back to Lara and gestured at the young man, "this is Alex West, he's helping me with the dig here." Lara shook hands politely, and made no attempt to wipe off the dirt he had transferred to her hand. The man appeared to be in his mid to late twenties, a few years older than her. Through the dirt smeared across his face she could see that he was rather handsome, and she guessed that the messy hair which hung over his eyes was supposed to be dark blond. He wore khaki trousers and a shirt rolled up to the elbows and unbuttoned to reveal a tantalising glimpse of his tanned and muscular chest, currently lightly beaded with sweat. "Croft." he mused. "Would your father by any chance have been Lord Henshingly Croft?" he asked in a distinctive American accent. Lara nodded in response. "It's a pleasure to meet you then, I'm a great admirer of his work." "So you're an archeologist?" Lara asked, fiddling with the end of her braid. Robert let out a laugh and Lara noticed Alex glare at him in annoyance. "He's a tomb raider," her friend said. Alex sighed and folded his arms across his chest. Lara cocked her head to one side and regarded him with interest. "What's a tomb raider?" she asked curiously. "I go into ancient sites, tombs mostly, to find artifacts." "How is that different to being an archeologist?" Lara asked in amusement. "Less digging, more breaking in," Robert explained and Lara smiled carefully, aware that Alex did not seem pleased with the description. "I seem to be doing a lot of digging at the moment," he muttered with barely concealed annoyance at the other man. "Well why don't you take a break and show Lady Croft around the site," his boss suggested peaceably. "She wants to get some snaps for a book," he said over his shoulder as he strode off to talk to the group of workers. 


	2. The Site

Chapter 2 - The Site  
  
As Lara walked ahead of him towards the site Alex couldn't help but admire the way her slender figure was shown off by a pair of tan hotpants and a tight blue vest. Her braided hair hung almost to her waist and watched it swing hypnotically in time with her steps. Alex shook his head to clear it of such inappropriate thoughts and jogged to catch the girl up. "So, tell me about this book," he said, grinning at her mainly with the pleasure of having an attractive young woman to talk to for the first time in three weeks. The only other female working at the site was over fifty and a bit of a dragon. "Well I haven't done much yet, but it's basically going to be a travel book describing some of the more remote parts of world." "Like here," Alex suggested and Lara nodded at him. "Not your average holiday guide then?" "I hope not," she said with a smile. He looked out across area which had been surrounded by twine strung between wooden posts. It was a rough square shape and it must have been at least half a mile to the far side. Various sections of dilapidated wall stood in a vaguely organised fashion and in some places trenches had been dug out. Lara was adjusting the lens on the large camera she wore about her neck. "I'm afraid this isn't very picturesque," he said apologetically "you may as well save your film for when we get inside." "How do you know there is an inside?" Alex crouched down beside the nearest section of crumbling stone and began searching around in the rubble. Lara stood watching him with her hands on her hips. Eventually he held up a fragment that was darker in colour to the rest of the stone and smoother in texture. "Roof," he said simply, standing up and handing the piece to Lara, who regarded it with interest. She thought for a few seconds. "Ok, so what makes you think that there's." she couldn't think of how to describe what she meant. The tomb raider gave a lop sided smile "a hollow bit?" he finished for her. Lara nodded. "Easy. Seismic readings. There's about twelve foot of earth in some places, then nothing." Lara looked confused "why doesn't it all collapse?" she asked him. "Most of the structure must still be complete, it's just been buried deeper and deeper over the years." Lara's jaw dropped. "And how old is it?" Alex shrugged. "You'd have to ask your friend about that, like he said I'm just the tomb raider." He noticed the girl looking at him with interest. "That means that when we find a way in, I'm the one who gets to go in first, in case of." "Of what?" she asked eagerly. "Who knows? That's why none of those geeks want to go in until they know it's safe," Alex replied, gesturing at the group of archeologists bent over the ground like clucking hens. Lara looked at him in admiration as he brushed matted hair off his face with an equally dirty hand. They held each others gaze for a few seconds, Lara looked away first. "So, er.are you stopping here for a while?" Alex asked. She nodded slowly "although the facilities seem rather basic." Alex laughed "yeah, you won't stay clean for long around here." "That's fine by me." He nodded at her with new respect, "come on then, Lady Croft, let's find you somewhere to sleep."  
  
After a lunch consisting largely of rice, Lara decided to make herself useful and help with the excavations. She was quickly soaked with sweat and covered in as much dirt as the others as she helped expose a growing expanse of wall, covered in the roots from a wizened old tree which grew at the edge of the site. After three hours of work many of the men had removed their shirts because of the heat and Lara stopped to wipe her brow. Alex was sitting on the wall, drinking thirstily from a canteen of water and she was disappointed to notice that he still had his shirt on, although it was clinging to him damply. Noticing her looking, the tomb raider offered her a drink and Lara sat down next to him, gratefully accepting. "Why don't we just blast a hole in that wall?" she asked, already frustrated with the slow progress made by their cautious digging. Alex laughed at her suggestion. "Sure, we could do that if we want the whole thing to collapse." Lara looked down, feeling foolish for not realising that it was a supporting wall. Alex relented and leant in towards her, "I thought that at first too," he confided. Much to her delight he stood up and began unbuttoning his shirt. Lara watched with unashamed interest, making Alex feel uncomfortable as he balled up the damp shirt and threw it to land next to his pack, which was leant up against the tree. Trying to suppress a smile, Lara picked up her shovel and resumed digging. 


	3. New Friends

Chapter 3 - New Friends  
  
When the sun began to descend the group gave up digging, and Lara was shown to a clearing in the trees where a large tank of collected rainwater was suspended, a tap underneath providing primitive shower facilities. Lara shivered as she washed under the stream of cool water. She heard a twig snap behind her as she finished rinsing soap out of her long hair and spun around, grabbing a thin towel from the nearby tree branch and using it to cover herself. "How long have you been there?" she asked Alex, who was leaning against a tree trunk with a smile playing on his lips. He shrugged. "I've come to tell you that dinner's ready" he said with a cheeky smile. Lara found it impossible to be angry with him, although she felt vaguely that she ought to be. "Let me guess.rice again?" she asked, tying the towel around her chest. "Afraid so. Although I did hear a rumour that the boss picked up some beers in town today as well as a beautiful young woman." "I happen to know that's true," Lara said smiling inwardly at the complement, "now turn around so I can get dressed."  
  
They walked together back to the camp to find a fire already blazing in the centre of the haphazard circle of tents. Robert Palmer handed Lara a bottle of beer and left her with the group of archaeologists while he led Alex off to one side. She looked across at them and saw them having a heated conversation in hushed tones. Lara frowned to herself, but before she could think about what they might be discussing she was cornered by a bespectacled man she remembered was called Jack. As she talked politely to him over dinner she worked her way through three or four bottles of beer, partly because she was thirsty after the days work and partly to relieve the boring conversation. Lara glanced across the fire and saw that Alex was watching her with an amused expression so she gestured to him to come and rescue her. He had obviously just taken a shower because Lara noticed he was looking clean for the first time, as he crouched down beside them and told Jack that Robert wanted a word with him. "Thanks," Lara said in a low voice, leaning in towards her rescuer as the other man got up to leave. "You're welcome," Alex said, "would you like another beer?" he asked, handing Lara one of the two bottles he had in his hands. She shrugged and took one. The other people around the fire gradually retired to their tents as they talked, and the collection of empty bottles in front of the pair grew. Alex told her about everyone who was working on the dig and about some of the other jobs he'd done and then listened with interest as Lara told him about the places she had been to in the last six months. They stopped talking for a while, both staring into the flickering flames. The silence was broken only by the occasional pop or crackle of a log on the fire. "Why are you doing this?" Alex asked suddenly. Lara was taken aback. "What do you mean?" "You know, travelling the world on your own, writing a book." "I hope your not going to tell me it's too dangerous," Lara said threateningly. "I wouldn't dream of it," Alex placated her, "I just wondered where you got the travel bug from." Lara was silent for a few moments. "My plane crashed in the Himalayas in February this year. I was the only survivor, and I had to trek for two weeks to get back to civilisation." She looked at Alex to see his reaction, but he merely nodded at her to continue. "At first I felt like every step I took would be my last, but after a few days I actually began to enjoy myself, I just felt so. so alive. When I returned home everything seemed so boring and claustrophobic and I realised that travelling alone was the only thing that could make me feel truly alive again." Lara blushed - she had never spoken to anyone so candidly of her feelings about the episode before. She looked up and Alex was nodding. "I know exactly what you mean," he said with a warm smile. Lara stood up to put another log on the fire and suddenly felt rather light headed. She tripped over the pile of wood and giggled as Alex caught her. The electricity in the air was palpable as he continued to hold onto her and they both suddenly felt more sober as they looked into each other's eyes. Alex leant forward and his still-damp hair brushed against Lara's forehead. She grazed his lips gently with her own and Alex growled softly, gently biting her lower lip to stop her pulling away. Suddenly they were kissing passionately and Alex ran his hands through her long hair which hung loose down her shoulders, as Lara snaked her arms around his waist. "I think I preferred it when this was off," she said, beginning to unbutton Alex's shirt. He grinned and tugged at her belt "and I preferred it when these were off" he countered. "You know, you really shouldn't have been watching me shower." "I know," he admitted. They began kissing again, this time slightly more urgently than before. "So would you agree that it's only fair that I should get to see you naked in return?" Lara suggested flirtily. Alex laughed. "Not out here though." "Why not?" He rolled his eyes at her then took her hand and began leading her towards his tent. 


	4. No More Digging!

Chapter 4 - No More Digging  
  
Lara awoke the next morning in an empty tent, which was already becoming uncomfortably hot from the sun shining fully on the roof. She quickly pulled on yesterday's clothes and braided her long hair, then she carefully unzipped the door ever so slightly to peek out. A few men were finishing their breakfast and she could see Robert striding up to the camp from the direction of the dig site. "Has anyone seen Lara yet?" he asked loudly and everyone shook their heads or answered in the negative, including Alex who she now spotted returning from the trees in the other direction, yawning widely. "Shit," Lara said under her breath, for some reason reluctant for everyone to know whose tent she had spent the night in. When everyone seemed to have their backs turned she crawled carefully out of the tent and round the back until she reached a point where she could pretend to be coming from the direction of the tent she was supposed to have been sharing with Sue, the only female archaeologist at the dig. Lara bid good morning to everyone, then blushed as she suddenly saw the older woman smiling knowingly at her. She remembered Alex telling her the previous night what a sour old thing she was and her heart sunk, but when she looked back Sue was winking at her and Lara made a mental note to be nice to her in the future. Robert was clapping his hands to gather everyone around him. "Ok, there's not much left to do today-" he began before one of the group piped up. "That's what you've been saying for the last three days." Robert glared at the speaker before continuing, "I'm confident that those darker bricks are the top of a doorway. You lot-" he gestured at the group- "get digging. West, get your stuff together." "Yes sir," Alex said, performing a joking salute. The leader shook his head and walked off after the group, leaving Lara and Alex standing together. "Not digging today? I thought you were having fun," he said with a smirk. Lara shrugged, "I don't think they need me anymore." "Well you can give me a hand," Alex said, stepping closer to her seductively. "Fine, but not like that," she said, fending him off with a laugh. "Someone might come along."  
  
After Lara had helped Alex pack supplies, a first aid kit, flares and various items of weaponry into a rucksack they strolled over to the site together. Lara had the heavy camera back around her neck, and spare film and lenses in a small rucksack. As they approached it was clear that the darker rocks did not signify a door, and Alex pulled Lara quickly behind another piece of exposed wall inside the roped area, which seemed to be holding up another old tree. "What are you doing?" she asked, removing her arm from his grip. "You don't want to be given a shovel do you?" "You're such a slacker," Lara teased. "Yeah, so are you," Alex retorted. "I'm not being paid!" she exclaimed indignantly, punching him gently on the shoulder. Alex pushed her up against the wall and leant in for a kiss, but before their lips met Lara let out a squeal. "What is it?" "Something moved!" she said, turning around to examine the wall. A piece of rock slid back out of the wall with a grating noise. "Uh oh" Alex managed to get out, before the ground suddenly gave way beneath their feet. 


	5. What Was That?

Chapter 5 - What Was That?  
  
Lara involuntarily grabbed onto Alex as they began to fall through the earth, and he managed to grab onto a tree root to prevent them plummeting into the darkness. "It looks like we've found the way in," Lara said dryly, transferring her weight to another of the dangling roots. They hung for a few seconds, but suddenly Lara's root didn't feel all that secure anymore. Before she could do anything a wrenching noise accompanied a sudden feeling of terror as she fell through the air, unsuccessfully grasping bits of root on the way down. This slowed her down somewhat, but she landed heavily on the stony floor. "Oh shit!" Alex exclaimed, looking down into the darkness then up at the opening of light a few feet above. "Are you ok Lara?" he called down. Lara groaned in reply and Alex breathed a sigh of relief that she was still alive. He debated whether to go down after her or back up to get help, but the decision was made for him as a creaking sound indicated that his root was also about to give way. He managed to shimmy part of the way down before it gave way and he fell the remaining few feet to the floor. In the dim light from the hole far above he managed to crawl over to where Lara lay and find a flare in his pack. She sat up groggily, mentally going over her body and deciding that nothing was broken. "I'm alright," she said, standing up shakily and looking around for the first time. By the light of the flare she could see that they were in some sort of entry chamber with intricate patterns cut into the walls. A passageway lined with sconces stretched off into the darkness. Alex rummaged in his pack and came out with a box of matches. He wrenched a taper off the wall sconces and lit it before the flare flickered out and handed the light to Lara, before getting another for himself. "I guess we're not getting back out that way," Lara said with a nervous laugh, gesturing at the jagged square of light above them. "Nope," Alex replied. Again he searched in his pack, this time finding a pistol which he gave to Lara. "What's this for?" she asked in surprise, weighing it in her palms. "We don't know what might be in there," he said seriously, nodding his head towards the dark corridor. Lara frowned. She couldn't imagine how anything could be alive down here as there was no other way in, but she shoved the gun into her belt anyway. Next, he separated some of the supplies for her. "In case we get split up," he explained. "Where will I put it all?" Alex looked at the rucksack on Lara's back. "What's in that?" "All my camera stuff," she said indignantly. "Ditch it." "But Alex." Lara began, but he looked at her sternly. "Ditch it Lara," he said in a tone of voice she hadn't heard before. Pouting, Lara complied and filled the bag with the things he gave her. They walked carefully down the passage, lighting the sconces on the walls as they went. The air was becoming noticeably more musty the further they went, but eventually the passage opened out into a larger space and as they lit the edges it became clear they were on a balcony overlooking a large room. A flight of stairs led down and Lara began to descend. "Come on, what are you waiting for?" she called over her shoulder. "Wait Lara," Alex said, "I don't like it." She looked over her shoulder, eyebrows raised and stepped onto the floor. Her heart leapt into her mouth as a grating sound was followed by a growl in the darkness. A pair of red eyes shone and Lara took one step backwards ready to run but suddenly Alex was beside her, guns blazing and the creature fell down dead. "What was that?" she asked breathlessly. "I don't know," he replied. "Keep close to me." She followed him into the doorway that had just opened and as their eyes were now used to the dimness they could discern that they were in a hallway, with various archways leading off it. They walked forwards cautiously but without warning another of the creatures leapt out from the side and pushed Alex against a wall before he could draw his guns. Lara screamed and dropped the candle as the thing snarled in the tomb raider's face, who tried to fend it off with only partial success. She recovered her wits and grabbed the gun out of her belt, firing three shots into the animal's flank until it collapsed with a howl. The blood pumped through Lara's veins and her hands shook as she helped Alex to his feet and found that he was not seriously hurt, although his shirt had been ripped and his chest scratched by the creature's claws. She picked up the burning torch and examined the bundle of black fur that lay on the ground. It resembled a dog more than anything else, but it had horns like a bull. The pair looked at each other in horror, similar questions forming in both of their minds which neither of them could answer. The first door off the corridor led into what must have been the monastery's dormitory as straw mattresses lined the walls. Lara shuddered when she saw what occupied one of them - a skeleton dressed in a decaying monk's habit. "Come on, there's nothing here," Alex said, turning away. "What are we looking for?" Lara asked. There was a pause before he answered. "The way out, of course." Alex walked back out into the corridor but Lara lingered over the body, wondering how the monk had died and why he had been left here. When she returned to the main area Alex was nowhere to be seen. She called his name over and over but there was no response so she began looking into the other doorways in the hope of seeing the light from his torch but to no avail. The cold hand of panic gripped her heart as she stepped into the last doorway to find nothing but a spiral staircase leading upwards. An ominous sound behind her caused Lara to spin around and see a wheel of stone roll across the way she had come in, trapping her inside. 


	6. Lost

Chapter 6 - Lost  
  
With a terrible feeling of dread Lara sat down on the bottom step with her head in her hands, wondering if she'd ever get out of this terrible place alive. She wished she had never come here, never met Robert Palmer and never got into that stupid jeep with him in search of adventure. Thinking of that journey yesterday caused her to remember the conversation that had taken place on the way here. "Your father would be proud of you," she remembered the man saying and the thought of this caused her to stand up with determination. "Daddy must have been in worse spots than this," she said out loud, "I will get out of here alive." Lara smiled grimly to herself and began to ascend the long flight of stairs. As she climbed higher Lara guessed that she must be nearing the surface, and when she finally reached the top her suspicions were confirmed by slants of light which came through cracks in the low ceiling of the corridor in which she found herself. The air was clearer here and she filled her lungs gratefully before carefully making her way along the passage. Looking down at her feet Lara noticed that the slab she was currently stepping on to looked different from all the others, but before she could examine it a sharp burning sensation across her leg caused her to yelp and leap away from whatever had caused it. Blood trickled from a gash on Lara's shin and she was glad Alex had insisted on her taking a first aid kit. After bandaging the wound as best she could Lara curiously dropped her pack onto the differently coloured section of floor and saw a blade swing silently across the corridor a few inches from the ground like the lash of a whip. If she had been just a foot further forward.Lara shuddered at the thought. She didn't doubt that there would be more of these, so she progressed slowly, looking carefully at the floor for changes in colour and wondering what these monks were trying to protect. She soon found what she was looking out for and examined the wall without putting weight on the dubious section of floor. Lara discovered a slit in the stone, about waist height this time which must house the blade. The ceiling was too low to leap over the dangerous area, so she got down on the floor and crawled, the sword swinging harmlessly over her. The next blade was lower like the first one, too low to crawl under. The area of danger seemed to long to step over, and she tested jumping the necessary distance further back but kept bumping her head. After thinking for a moment Lara took a few steps back for a run up, then dived over the sharp metal, somersaulting as she landed. Picking herself up, Lara looked back in triumph and laughed to herself. She slid a short distance down a steep slope and came to a stop just in time at the edge of a sharp drop. Crouching down she held out her torch and saw that the bottom of the deep pit was lined with metal spikes which glinted in the light of the flame. The far edge looked an awful long way away, but Lara figured that she didn't really have a choice but to attempt to jump it. She steeled herself and threw the torch across so she could see where she was leaping to then stepped back to the edge of the slope. Lara ran forward and leapt at the last minute. She immediately knew that she would come short of the other side. Instinctively she reached out and grabbed hold of stone edge and clung on with her fingers screaming out in pain. Lara let out the breath she suddenly realised she'd been holding, then heaved herself up with a grunt. Lara continued through to a room that seemed to contain nothing but a closed door with no handle. She put her shoulder against the door but it refused to budge and there was not even a keyhole to be found. Lara pounded the heavy wood in frustration but to no avail and she began to despair that there was no way forward, and also no way back. 


	7. Tomb Raider

Chapter 7 - Tomb Raider  
  
Lara Croft hadn't come all this way to give up now. Remembering how they had got into the monastery in the first place, she began searching the room for a hidden switch of some kind, pressing the walls in various places and standing on every slab of stone in case it was a pressure plate. Eventually she sat down on the cold floor and leant back against the wall. The stone moved ever so slightly, causing Lara to laugh out loud. She quickly got to her feet and shoved with all her might until the section of wall slid back to reveal a small hole in the floor. It was just big enough for Lara to put her hand in tentatively and find and handle, which moved when she tugged it hard enough. A creaking sound indicated that the huge doors were opening. She cautiously peered into the next room and saw a single shaft of light coming through a gap in the high ceiling. The light fell on a wooden dais in the centre of the room, and on it sat what looked like a pair of stone cylinders with handles on each end. Lara looked around suspiciously before advancing into the room and picking one of the objects up, turning it in her hands. It was intricately carved with Chinese symbols all the way around, except the ends which were covered in beautiful patterns. Lara couldn't guess what it was she had found but she would certainly find out, for the round stones must have been important judging by everything that had been used to protect them. As she carefully lifted the other from the plinth a door slid open to her right which Lara hoped with all her heart was the exit. She opened her bag to place the artifacts carefully inside but was stopped by a voice behind her. "You'd better give those prayer wheels to me, Lara." She turned to see Alex leaning against the wall by the door she had entered by. Lara breathed a sigh of relief, but then thought about what he had said. "Why? I found them," she said obstinately. "They're not yours, you can't take them." Lara eyed him suspiciously. "These are what Palmer sent you in here for, aren't they? Why didn't you tell me? What's the big secret?" she held the stone cylinders to her chest possessively. Alex sighed. "They're.an important artifact," he said, stepping towards her threateningly. Lara looked down at the beautiful objects, of course they were prayer wheels. But she had found them, not Alex and not Robert Palmer. Whatever their significance, she had found the way in to the monastery, and found her way through all those traps and puzzles protecting the wheels before Alex had. She was a better tomb raider than he was and he had no right to take the prize from her. Lara looked sideways at the door that had opened, judging whether she could outrun the man to the darkness that lay beyond. A metallic clicking noise caused her to look back, and she found herself staring into the barrel of his gun. Lara's jaw set. "Are you going to shoot me Alex?" she asked with disbelief, more surprised than afraid. "I hope I won't have to," he said, moving closer until he was standing inches away from her. He pressed the gun against her chest and Lara looked up into his eyes, not quite sure why she was feeling excited and turned on by this situation. "You have to let me win this one Lara," he said quietly, his face inches from hers. Lara looked at him steadily, then calmly placed the prayer wheels back on the plinth. She nodded, "but never again," she said, then turned and strode out of the door without looking back. 


End file.
